Mitsubishi Motors give up hope of finding automotive buyer for its U.S. factory

Mitsubishi Motors has given up the hope of finding an automotive buyer for its U.S. plant, based in Normal, Illinois, and will now attempt to attract a buyer for the factory from another industry.

The Japanese automotive company stopped vehicle production at its Illinois assembly factory in November 2015, when it also laid off 1,000 of its workers. The factory will continue to produce car parts until May of this year and continues to employ a workforce of 250 people, but Mitsubishi Motors, who closed their Netherlands factory in 2012, will now focus its auto vehicle production in Japan, Russia and southeast Asia.

The company has been searching for a buyer from the automotive industry who would also be willing to carry on the employment of the remaining 250 workers, but this search has proved futile and Mitsubishi are now hoping to find a buyer for the assembly factory from another industry.

It is thought that the closure and sale of the plant is responsible for Mitsubishi Motors’ announcement that it is forecasting a staggering loss of between 20 billion yen and 30 billion yen (£117million and £176million) for the year March 2015 to March 2016.